Joint-breaking apparatus



Nbv. 19, 1929. 4

JOINT BREAKING APPARATUS Filed April 18,1927 4 sh ets-sheet .1

J. D. NIIXON 1,736,009-

Nov. 19,1929. J. D. NIXON JOINT BREAKING APPARATUS Filed April 18, 19274 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. D. NIXON JOINT BREAKINQAPPARATUS Nov. 19, 1929.

Filed April 18, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 J. D. NIXON JOINT BREAKINGAPPARATUS Nov. 19, 1929.

Filed April 1 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 6 stem, or other pipe,

Patented Nov: 19, 1929 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JEDDY D. NIXON, OFHOUSTONfTEXAS, ASSIGNOR. TO TEXAS IRON WORKS SALES COB- PORTION, OI!HOUSTON, TEXAS, A CORPORATION OF TEXAS comm-BREAKING arrnm'rusApplication meda rn s, 1927. Serial 1a. 184,617.

- One object of the invention is to provide a novel apparatus of thecharacter described specially designed for the purpose of break-.

mg, or loosening the joints of a rotary drill used in'drillingoil orother wells.

Another object of the invention is to provide a power actuated means, orgun, for

rotating or unscrewing, one member of the joint to be broken while theother member of I the joint is held against rotation and the inventionembodies a construction in which the tong actuating element will returnautomatically into active position after each power stroke thereof, soas to be in position for application to another joint to be broken.

A further feature of the device resides in a novel means for cushioning,or retarding, the tong actuating element, upon the application of powerthereto, so as to diminish the violence of the power stroke of saidelement, after the joint has been broken.

With the above and other objects in view this invention has particularrelation to oertain novel features of construction, operation andarrangement of parts, an example of which is given in this specificationand illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 shows afragmentary cross sectional view of a derrick showing a rotary drillingmachine, and draw works mounted thereon, and showing the joint breakingapparatus associated therewith.

Figure 2 shows a fragmentary side elevation of a drill stem withbreaking tongs applied, one to each joint member connecting adjacentsections of said stem.

Figure 3 shows a side v1ew of the lower end of said'apparatus.

Figure 9 shows a cross sectional view taken on the line 9--9 of Figure8.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, wherein like numeralsof referencesdesignate similarparts' in each of the figures, the numeral1 designates the derrick as awhole having the floor 2 whereon a rotarydrilling machine 3 and the draw works 4 are mounted and which are ofconventional and well known construction. Extendin vertically throughthe table 5 of the rotary rilling machine there is a drill-pipe 6, whichis made up of sections, as 7 8, whose ends are connected by the tooljoint members 9 and 10, the former having a pin which is outwardlythreaded and screwed into an inwardly threaded box, of the other member.

The parts hereinabove described are of conventional construction andform no part of this invention. This invention comprises a breaking gun11 which includes a vertically disposed cylinder 12, a piston 13 and apiston rod 14 whose upper end is connected to said piston and whichworks through the stufling box 16, carried by the lower head 17 of thecylinder which is screwed on to the lower end of said cylinder. Screwedonto the upper end of the cylinder there is an upper head 18 which isformed with an eye 19 by means of which the gun may be handled, orelevated into position. Mounted on the derrick floor there is a gunsupporting frame or bracket having abase composed of the foot, or sidemembers 20, 20, suitably anchored together. by the cross braces 21, 21,and upstanding from which are the spaced side supports 22, 22, which arebraced by the angle bars 23, 23, and between the upper ends of which thegun 11 is mounted, the lower and upper head 17 18, of the gun beingbolted to said side supports 22, 22, as illustrated in Figure 4. -Afluid pressure line 24 leads from a controlling valve 25 into the lowerend of the cylinder through the inlet conduit 26 into which the upperend of-. said line 24 is connected. Mounted in the derrick above the gun11 there is a fluid container 27 having the overflow outlet 28 connectedinto its upper end and the pipe 29 has one end connected into the-lowerend of the container 27 and its other end is connected into the cylinder12 above the piston 13 through the conduit 30 into which the lower endof the pipe 29 is connected. Rotatably mounted between the angle bars 23there is a pulley 31 and a cable or other flexible line 32 is connectedto the lower end of the piston rod 14 and operates around said pulley 31and has its other end connected to the outer end of the handle of thetong 33, which is applied to the pin member 9 of the drill pipe. Anothertong as 34 is applied to the box member 10 of the drill pipe joint. Theouter end of the tong 34is connected to one end of the cable 35, theother end of said cable being connected to the leg of the derrick sothat said tong 34 will hold the joint member 10 against turning. Thesetongs 33, and 34 may be suspended inthe derrick if desired in theconventional and well known manner. The valve is provided for thepurpose of controlling the application of steam or other pressure fluidto the gun and any conventional type of valve suitable for this purposemay be employed. The valve shown is of the general type of balancedvalve mechanism described in my copending application filed October 26,1926, under Serial No. 144,215, and embodies the valve casing 36 andfluid pressure line 24 is connected into the fluid pressure chamber ofthe valve by means of the suitable nipple 37. Fluid pressure is suppliedto said chamber through the supply line 38 and is exhausted through theexhaust line 39'. The controlling valves within said casing areconnected to and operated by the valve rod 40 whose outer end isconnected, at an intermediate point, to one arm of the bell crank 41 andthe free end of this arm has a pull spring 42 connected thereto at oneend and whose other end is connected to one of the cross bars 21connecting the side members 20 and this spring, normally operates tohold the valve closed. One end of the reach rod 43 is connected to thefree end of the other arm of the bell crank 41 and its other end ispivotally connected to the free end of the downwardly extended arm 44which is fixed on one end of the stub shaft 45, rotatably mounted in abearing 46 mounted on the derrick floor; A foot pedal 47 is fixed to theother end of the shaft 45. By pressure on this pedal the valve may beopened and fluid under pressure thus admitted through the line 24 intothe cylinder 12 beneath the plunger and said plunger will be thereuponforced upwardly whereupon a sudden pull will be exerted on the tong 33through cable 32 and the box member 10 being held b the tong 34 the pinmember 9 will be su denly turned and partially unscrewed, thus breakingthe joint. The joint being broken the upper section 7 may then bereadily unscrewed and detached from the lower section 8 in any desiredmanner.

When fluid, under pressure, is applied to The container 27 isstroke willwork against the fluid in the cyl- I inder 12 above the plunger 13 andgradually force the same up through the pipe 29 into said container,thus producing the desired result. 1

When the pedal 47 has been'depressed it should then be immediatelyreleased and the spring 42 will close the valve 25 and prevent furtherinlet of the pressure fluid and the valve structure is such as to thenpermit the discharge of the pressure fluid from the cylinder 12underneath the plunger 13 through the line 24 and out through thedischarge 39. The plunger 13 will descend by gravity, as sisted by thepressure of the fluid above it from container 27 and will thus beautomatically restored to active position, that is, in position so thatwhen the tong 32 is again applied to the joint member 9 the plunger 13will be in position to impart another power stroke upon application byfluid pressure thereto, as hereinabove explained.

In order to retain the cable 32 on the pulley 31 an arcuate guide 48 isanchored between the side supports 22 and has the arcuate side flanges49, 49, which embrace the adjacent side of the pulley and serve toconfine said cable on said pulley.

VVhat I claim is 1. YA joint breaking apparatus comprising grippingmeans adapted to be applied to a pin and a box of a drill pipe joint abreaking gun fixed in approximately vertical position, said gunincluding a cylinder, a plunger therein movable in one direction bygravity-and in the other direction by fluid pressure means for applyinga liquid cushion against the plunger as it moves in the last nameddirection, a flexible member adapted to connect one of said grippingmeans to said plunger.

2. A joint breaking apparatus comprising gripping means adapted to beapplied to a pin and box of a drill pipe joint, a breaking gun fixed inapproximately vertical position, said gun including a cylinder, a

plunger therein movable in one direction inder on one side of theplunger,

and including a cylinder and a plunger therein, means for supplyingfluid under pres-.

sure into the cylinder on one side of the plunger and for relieving thepressure fluid therefrom, means for applying'static liquid pressureagainst the other side of the plunger, a flexible member connecting saidplunger and one of said gripping means and a guide over which saidflexible member operates.

4. A joint breaking apparatus including gripping means adapted to beapplied to the pin and box of a drill pipe joint, a breaking guncomprising a cylinder, a plunger in the cylinder, means connecting theplunger to one of said gripping means, means for supplying static fluidinto, and for relieving the same from, the cylinder on one side of theplunger and means for supplying fluid under pressure into, and forrelieving the same from, the cylinder on the other side of the plunger.

5. A joint breaking apparatus including gripping means adapted to beapplied to the pin and box of a drill pipe joint, a breaking guncomprising a cylinder and a plunger therein, to one of said grippingmeans, means for applying fluid under pressure into the cylinder on oneside of the plunger to actuate said plunger in one direction to breaksaid joint, and means for supplying other fluid with constant uniformpressure into the cylinder on the other side of said plunger, said lastnamed means permittin the escape of said other fluid when sai plunger isso actuated.

6. A joint breaking apparatus including gripping means adapted to beapplied to the pin and box of a drill pipe joint, a breaking gun'comprising a cylinder, a plunger in the cylinder, means connecting theplun er to one of said gripping means, means or fluid under pressureinto the cyla fluid container above the cylinder and a pi connectingsaid container into the cy dle r on the other side of said plungenapplying 7. A joint breaking apparatus including.

a gripping means adapted to be applied to a pin and box of a pipe joint,a mak ing gun having a movable element, means;

for connecting said movable element to one of said gripping means, meansfor applying fluid under pressure to the-gim to actuate said-element inone direction to break said joint and other means for supplying liquidto the gun element.

8. 'A joint breaking apparatus including gripping means adapted to beapplied to a pin and box of a pipe joint, a reaking gun including amovable element, means for connecting said movable element to one ofsaid gri ping means, means for supplying fluid un er pressure to thegun,.on one side means for connecting said plunger to retard suchactuation of said of said element to actuate it in one direc-

